Carillon Historical Park

Editor's Review

A small indoor museum and a large outdoor one provide a heady onslaught of Dayton's history, from the National Cash Register company to the Wright Brothers' first practical plane.

Wear comfortable shoes to the 65-acre Carillon Historical Park; you're going to be doing a lot of walking. Don't be fooled by the stately brick building at the entrance, which looks like just another visitors center. Beyond is a wealth of history at this site near the University of Dayton. A nominal entrance fee admits visitors into a sort of Disney World for history buffs. First, there's the indoor portion, the Heritage Center of Dayton Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship. Antique cash registers (a tribute to Dayton's own NCR company) fill one room, memorabilia on the Wright brothers another, and items about the magazine McCall's, which began life as an Ohio publication, another. Outside the back door lies the heart of the park: a re-created town featuring everything from a vintage Sunoco station to Dayton's oldest building, Newcom Tavern, built in 1796 and transported here when the park first opened in 1950. Some buildings feature turn-of-the-century trains and other vehicles. The biggest thrill, though, is the original Wright Flyer III, built in 1905. It's given a place of honor in the John W. Berry Sr. Wright Brothers Aviation Center, in a quiet, darkened room where the only sound is the snapping of tourists' cameras.